


Unseelie Princess

by BelleDayNight



Category: Fever Series - Karen Marie Moning
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 19:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5940655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleDayNight/pseuds/BelleDayNight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mac must recreate the Song of Making. Only the knowledge within the Sinsar Dubh can save her world. And there is only one person that has that knowledge — Cruce.</p><p>Takes place after Burned, in the middle of Feverborn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Deal with the Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Mac and Barrons are a foregone conclusion in the series. There is no doubt in my mind that the two of them are soulmates and frankly, I wouldn't want to change that. However, after re-reading The Immortal Highlander (Adam Black and Gabby's story), I would really enjoy an alternate story of Mac and V'lane/Cruce. Yeah, he's the "bad guy", but really he's a lot better than most of the Tuatha De Danann. And as he's trying to save his species, he is kind of heroic even — in a Magneto sort of way. So, since this will never happen in the books, I felt the undeniable temptation to write a story for my guilty pleasure pairing…enjoy!

Dreamy-Eyed Guy was right. The _Sinsar Dubh_ was part of Mac. Was it innately evil? Could she learn to control it? Barrons and Ryodan certainly thought she could. Was it possible to harvest its powers without being corrupt by its nature?

It had brought back Alina. Or rather, she had brought back her sister from the dead. No one died a horrific death at her hands as a result. Dani had her spear, but she had the Cuff of Cruce on her arm. It protected her from Unseelie and other assorted nasties — just as V'lane said.

Except, not V'lane, but Cruce.

"What is going on in that little head of yours, Miss Lane?" Barrons asked.

Mac looked up to see her lover standing in the shadows. She'd been staring at one of the blackholes inside of Chester's for over an hour. She had to do something, or else her world could very well be destroyed. The Tuatha De had destroyed their home planet, she'd be damned if they'd destroy hers.

"Thinking," Mac answered. "We need to find the Song of Making." She gestured towards the blackhole. "Or else, we will all be unmade."

"Anything in the book?" Barrons asked.

"You were hell-bent on me not opening the book and now you want me to? It's been silent lately, but it seduces. When it takes over, anyone around me is in danger." Mac rubbed the silver and gold cuff on her arm.

"That's why you'll only open it in the presence of Ryodan and myself," Barrons answered impatiently. "And it's time to try again. Are we on the same page, Miss Lane?"

"Same bloody word," Mac grumbled.

And that's how she ended up in her current predicament. She'd opened the book with Barrons and Ryodan sitting on either side of her deep within one of Chester's basements. When she had regained her senses, they were both dead and she'd been the one to kill them.

They'd be back, but how long would it take? How long did the world have to wait before it was engulfed by the blackholes? Wouldn't the book want to help? Surely, it didn't want to be destroyed either!

She rubbed her arm again, brushing the Cuff of Cruce. She thought about her former ally for the first time in several days. Normally, she tried not to think about him. Loath as she was to admit it, she missed him. She missed their trips to the beach — she was a sunshine kind of girl. She missed having him at her side.

Cruce wasn't controlled by the book. He absorbed the knowledge, but was neither good nor evil. When they first met, she would have considered him her enemy. But then, he observed human customs and adapted to gain her friendship. He saved her hometown from the horrors the rest of the world suffered. He had faith in her even when she was working alongside Darroc — someone who truly was her enemy in every sense of the word.

Mac hated him for what he did to her on Halloween. He and the other three Unseelie Princes had done the unforgivable under Darroc's guidance. However, in light of the memory returned to her of Barrons taking advantage of her on their first night, maybe she could look past it. She had forgiven Barrons.

Maybe she could tolerate Cruce. He was fae. His sense of morality wasn't the same as hers. She was twenty three. He was over a hundred and fifty thousand years old.

Technically, he did save her life with his elixir. Though, he would have preferred if she was his personal Pri-ya for eternity.

She could even understand his twisted reasoning for partaking in her assault. She'd been tempted to give in to his charms. If she hadn't met Barrons, Cruce would have succeeded. He told her so much about the world of fae and the history of the Unseelie King and his court — of course, as the King's favored prince he would know more than most of his species who were forever drinking from the Caldron of Forgetting.

She didn't blame him for trading places with V'lane. He'd approached the Seelie Queen in good faith. She'd been the one to allow petty jealousy to cloud her judgment. It was what he did afterwards to the concubine and king that worried her. His true nature was ruthless. But then, so was Barrons. She remembered reliving his memory of seducing a Seelie Princess and then slaughtering her. How could she forgive one, but not the other? Especially if the fate of the world depended on it.

A hunter lurked nearby. They were the fastest mode of transportation and still recognized her as the Unseelie King. At least there were some advantages to having part of his essence embedding into her very DNA.

She settled onto the back of one of the hunters and started for the abbey, determined to speak with her former ally.

.

.

**OoO**

.

.

Boredom was a common curse amongst his kind. Cruce stared at the ceiling of his imprisonment and listened for the sound of his ally to return. He pondered the Unseelie King's response to his rebellion.

His father had been amused and proud. He welcomed the change!

Compared to the others of his race, Cruce was the best candidate to lead them into the future. The Seelie were so obsessed with their own pompous self-importance they couldn't see beyond their own immediate gratification. Adam Black was the only Seelie he had liked and he was mortal now. Aoibheal was far from perfect, though her unremembered past as a mortal seemed to have made her partial to the humans. She was certainly better than the original Seelie Queen who couldn't see beyond her own jealousies.

Cruce had the power and knowledge now to properly rule his people. But, he couldn't do anything trapped in his little cell.

He shoved off the slab and began to pace. His thick, black wings brushed against the narrow confines of the room.

There was a scrapping sound against the door of his imprisonment. All he needed was a slight opening and he could seduce whatever human was foolish enough to seek a peek at the Unseelie prince!

"Cruce," a feminine voice called out.

Curious, the one human that was immune to his thrall would be the one to approach him. He said nothing. How had she gotten past the sidhe-seers? He'd made sure the periodicals circulating would keep the humans hunting her. He had dared to hope she might be captured and placed alongside him. Together they could escape the small-minded mortals. Did she still think him imprisoned in the ice by the Unseelie King? She'd have to open the door to see for herself and he'd take the opportunity to escape.

"I have your cuff," Mac said. "I can sense you. Like calls to like."

Cruce rolled his eyes. How many times did he offer it to her? "What do you want, MacKayla?" Cruce asked. "Have you come to receive my name again?"

"How do you feel about the world being sucked into a blackhole and destroyed?"

Cruce frowned. His world was connected to this planet. If this planet was destroyed, so were the realms he called home. "I would feel quite displeased, because oblivion isn't something I look forward to."

"I think we can save it," Mac said.

"We?" Cruce asked in disbelief. He leaned his hip against the stone slab in the middle of the room. It would be nice to work alongside MacKayla again. Perhaps she would become a princess of his kind? He'd made her immortal, so he might as well work to mend their friendship. She would make an excellent lover. He'd like to taste her again, but without the shadows and deceit. "Have you come to make a deal with me, MacKayla?"

"You now have the knowledge of the book," Mac said. She paused for a long moment. "When my mother was possessed by the book, she was pregnant with me. The book imprinted itself onto me. The book is part of me too."

Cruce hummed thoughtfully. This was old news to him. The book had revealed this to him when he absorbed it. "How did you get past my wardens?" Cruce asked. "I would think they would be eager to imprison you right alongside me."

"Sometimes the book helps me," Mac answered. "Currently, I'm invisible to everyone." She took a deep breath. "I think the Song of Making lies within the book," Mac continued. "If we don't recreate the song our world is gone."

"Free me from this prison and I will consider a truce between us, MacKayla," Cruce crooned.

"I will have your word, Cruce. You will work with me to save our world," Mac said. "Then you will take your kind off this planet. Use the Silvers and take them somewhere else."

Cruce laughed. "That doesn't benefit my brothers. I mean to be King, MacKayla. This planet is our home too. It has been for thousands of years."

"Then I guess we'll just all be destroyed."

Cruce began to pace again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We can perhaps strike an accord as Aobheal did with the Keltar."

He grinned at the sound of Mac's frustrated sigh.

"I won't have your kind hunting my kind," Mac said.

"Do not men hunt fellow men?" Cruce pointed out. "You are not a peaceful race. Have you not eaten the flesh my kind? What did those particular fae do to you?"

"Some of them deserved it," Mac groused. "But, you're right."

Cruce smiled. "I suppose we can come up with some rules as to what makes one fair game."

"I found a box. In the White Mansion," Mac said. "And there is a song in my head, a tune that plays constantly. When I am near the blackholes they make a horrible cacophony."

"Let us work together once more, MacKayla. I preserved your life for a reason," Cruce said.

"You wanted me as your personal _Pri-ya_!"

"I am not adverse to pleasuring one another, but if what you say is true about these blackholes, we will have to work together in haste," Cruce said. "MacKayla, you and I have an accord. But, I will not work with that beast Barrons or his ilk."

"This is something they cannot help with anyway," Mac retorted.

The barrier holding him trapped within the prison was suddenly gone. The doors flew open and for a moment there was nothing. Then materializing out of the nothing stood MacKayla with her long blond hair fluttering behind her. She held out her hand towards him, the red bloodstones of the Cuff of Cruce on her arm glittering in the daylight.

Cruce stopped time for any mortals in their vicinity. He would not risk an interruption to their reunion. He reached out and grasped her hand. He bent forward and brushed his lips across her knuckles, enjoying the way her eyes focused on his wings and she tried to look valiantly away from his nakedness.

"Clothes?" Mac muttered.

"Ah, yes, of course," Cruce said with a teasing smile. And suddenly, Mac's clothes were gone. "Much better."

Mac's eyes narrowed and then darkened to onyx. And then they were both dressed. He wore jeans, a charcoal gray shirt, and combat boots. He was surprised that his wings were not constrained by the clothing. She wore a slick black leather jacket over a red halter top, jeans, and knee-high boots.

"We have no time for games, Cruce."

"Let us save the world, MacKayla. Where is this music box?" Cruce asked. He straightened and released her hand. He was pleased that she no longer carried the Spear of Luisne.

"At the bookstore."

"Come to me and I will sift us there," Cruce offered.

"We can take a Hunter," Mac countered.

Cruce raised an eyebrow, a human trait he'd learned to master for MacKayla. "I thought time was of the essence."

"Fine," Mac huffed. She stepped towards him, closing the distance.

Cruce held her against him in a hug, enjoying the way her curves pressed against his hard planes. His wings folded up around them both in a protective cocoon and then they vanished from the abbey's prison.

She didn't know it yet, but he could sense the change in her. MacKayla was not only immortal from the elixir he fed her, but she was slowly becoming an Unseelie princess. It was a good thing she no longer carried the spear with her.


	2. The Unseelie Prince

Damned fairy wings were driving him insane! Christian reached over his shoulder to pick out the leaves that had tangled within the plumage sticking from his broad shoulders. He just wanted to go for a walk and maybe test out some of his powers. Though, being the representative of Death, he wasn’t sure if he’d be capable of anything other than that.

He was happily surprised when he’d channeled his powers on an old oak tree left wasted and rotted from the Shades in one of Dublin’s many parks. His Druid arts warred with the nature of his new state and won. The park now bloomed with lush oak trees, bushes, and grass. Summer actually looked like summer in that small corner of city.

He’d sat on a bench to preen his blasted feathers when he felt a set of eyes on him. It was like looking at a ghost. The blonde haired, green-eyed woman looked uncannily like Mac, but he knew it wasn’t her. He remembered the empty grave he and Mac had gone to explore together.

“Alina?” Christian called out.

Her green eyes widened and she began to run, her heart raced and he could hear the frantic tattoo of it.

“Bloody hell,” Christian grumbled. He closed his eyes and then focused on his new Unseelie powers. He sifted right in front of her, causing her to run headlong into his powerful chest. His arms banded around her tightly. “I won’t be hurting you lass. I’m a friend of Mac’s,” Christian explained.

Though, he held a strong grudge against both Mac and Barrons for his current predicament of transforming into an Unseelie Prince, he couldn’t say he hated Mac. She found him in the Silvers and jumped into a scorching desert to save him, without thinking about the consequences. She saved his Queen, finding him by impossible circumstances. She also faced the Crimson Hag for him. He owed her his life, such as it was. And if the newspapers held any truth in them, she had the Sinsar Dubh within her. She understood his grief better than anyone.

Alina’s eyes were screwed up tight, tears slipped from her closed lids.

“Och, I’m Christian MacKeltar,” he said, soothingly. “I know I look a fright, but unfortunately, as of late I’ve been changing.”

Alina’s eyes opened a sliver and then widened more. He could see golden flakes within her green irises. “I remember you from Trinity.”

“Aye, Ancient Languages Department, lass,” Christian confirmed, relieved when the tension in her muscles loosened.

“You tried to befriend me, but I ignored you,” Alina continued.

“Too wrapped up in that boyfriend of yours to pay attention to a simple Scottish college student,” Christian teased.

She smiled softly. “Darroc was a jealous man. It was better that I ignored the charming Scottish college student.” Her statement rang with truth. “I was trying to find my sister. I went by that bookstore she lives at, but no one seemed to be home.”

“I think she went to Chester’s,” Christian answered. It seemed everyone was holing up at that atrocious club where fae and human mixed. Most of his family was back in Scotland, but he wasn’t about to leave his Uncle Dageus alone with Ryodan’s ilk. He scowled at the turn of his own thoughts. It was an awful curse to turn into what you grew up hating.

“Are you okay?” Alina asked nervously. A small frown line appeared between her eyes. “You’re — um — eyes got very dark and the markings on your skin began to swirl angrily.”

Christian sighed. “Things just hadn’t been going my way too much lass.” He could feel his lust starting to grow, the draining of his powers healing the park had only served as a temporary reprieve. His constant erection began to incessantly strain against his trews.

Alina mewed softly and Christian abruptly released her.

“Sorry,” he murmured. He looked pointedly away and tried to calm his libido. At least around Mac she didn’t react to him like all the other women — anywhere — did. He cleared his throat. “Did Mac explain things to you?”

Alina laughed bitterly. “She thought I was some sort of imposter! She and I have always been a team and yet she acted as if she didn’t know me!” She closed her eyes and rubbed her index finger over the center of her forehead, smoothing out the frown line. “I can’t believe I lost an entire year.”

“You were dead,” Christian said bluntly. He was impatient with the lack of communication amongst his peers. If people would just be bloody honest, it would save a lot of time! “Somehow, you were brought back. I am pretty sure the Sinsar Dubh did it to tempt Mac.”

“Mac found it?” Alina asked, staring at him openly. “And she’s alive?”

Christian only had suspicions on that account — she passed through the Silvers unharmed, the Hunters were charmed by her, and the Sinsar Dubh never actually harmed her. Somehow, she was connected to the Unseelie King — a part of him. The periodicals circulating claimed the Sinsar Dubh lived within her, but he didn’t think she was possessed by it. He’d seen Cruce absorb the book. “Not sure of the how of it, but I mean to find out.”

Alina squared her shoulders and looked up at him bravely. “I want to learn about everything that’s happened in the last year, Christian. Will you tell me?”

“I’m afraid the only ones that know those answers would be your sister and Barrons and they aren’t the most talkative about such things,” Christian said. “However, I’ll take you to Chester’s and we can demand Mac tell us what she can.”

“Are you going to do that teleportation thing?” Alina asked.

“I thought we might actually walk,” Christian said. He wanted to travel by his own two feet, not use his inhuman powers. Besides, walking alongside a beautiful woman that wasn’t falling at his feet or running away in fear — it was a nice change.  
.  
.

  
**OoO**

  
.  
.  
Mac stared down at Cruce as he crouched on the floor, holding the music box delicately in his large hands. She hated him, but she also cared for him. If ever she was bipolar, this was another one of those dualities. He’d hurt her and betrayed her, but to him, he’d saved her and relished in her.

What would have happened if he’d been the one to find her at the abbey after she’d been Pri-ya instead of Barrons? Rowena had intended for her to die, but if the other Unseelie Princes had taken her, would Cruce have taken her from them?

“Your transition into a fae would simply have been faster if I had been there before Barrons,” Cruce answered, as if reading her mind. “And I wouldn’t have let the other princes touch you after what they did.”

Mac scowled. “What are you talking about?”

Cruce looked up at her, his iridescent eyes searching. “I enjoy your company, MacKayla. I spent thousands of years as the attendant for the King’s concubine. My moments with you were infinitely more amusing.”

“And you raped her too, you monster!” Mac accused, hands fisted angrily at her side. “I should kill you!”

“If we don’t work together, we’ll all be dead anyway.” Cruce stood and held the box out towards Mac and she took it gingerly. “I already explained, that I saved you. I was greedy for you too. Besides, you enjoyed it when I was inside of you. I saw intelligence in your eyes and because I ‘raped you’,” he used finger quotations. “If I hadn’t given you the elixir you would be dead. If I hadn’t loved you that day, your Barrons wouldn’t have been able to find enough of you to save.”

Was he speaking the truth? What did he know of love? There were no known cases of someone coming back to their senses from being Pri-ya before her. Maybe it wasn’t because she was so epic, so much as her Pri-ya making had been different? “You still tried to kill the Queen.”

Cruce shrugged. “That’s how royalty is toppled in the Seelie Court.” He fluffed out his wings and then straightened them behind his shoulders. “I want to know why the King favors you such, MacKayla. Tell me, how is it that the Sinsar Dubh dwells within you.” He cocked his head to the side, his razor sharp teeth bright against his dark skin. “It broke out of the abbey twenty-three years ago. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you twenty-three years old?”

What did her secret matter now? She wanted Cruce to tell her the truth, but she wasn’t reciprocating. Of all the fae, he was the one she knew the best — and feared the most. He did seem the most reasonable of their kind, but then the best sociopaths were charming. “It imprinted on me. My mother carried the book out of the abbey while she was pregnant with me. The book made a copy of itself inside of me. I suppose that makes me the king’s daughter.”

Cruce began to laugh, the sound familiar from their visits to various beaches. “You hunted for the book when you already had a copy inside of you.” He wiped his cheek with a knuckle, a single tear of amusement had leaked out. He stared down at the tear on his finger. “A tear of mirth? Truly, you are good for my evolvement, MacKayla.”

Stasis versus static — it’s how the Fae thought. Was Cruce truly becoming the new king?

“So what do you think about the music?” Mac asked impatiently. She wasn’t there to figure Cruce out. She needed him to save the world. She picked up her backpack that had previously been discarded in the bookstore, packed the music box within, and slung it over her shoulder.

“It is certainly part of the creation song,” Cruce mused. “The knowledge within me recognizes it.” He twitched his fingers and red runes began to dance in the air about them, transforming into a few measures of a haunting tune.

The hairs on Mac’s nape stood on end. The sound was both beautiful and painful.

“Where is the nearest blackhole?” Cruce demanded. “Preferably a smaller one, so we don’t cause too much damage if things go awry.”

Mac strode towards a table in the back of the bookstore. She’d made her own copy of the blackhole locations on a map. She spread it out on the table and Cruce joined her, his body pressed close behind her, his chin rested on her shoulder, his cheek pressed against hers as he stared down at the map.

“Step back, Cruce,” MacKayla warned.

He rubbed his nose against her teasingly and then moved to stand beside her.

She pointed at a couple of locations, and then folded the map up to tuck inside her pack.

Cruce stepped towards her again, held her shoulders tightly, and his wings folded around them. He sifted them towards the blackhole near the archeology museum. “Ah, this place brings back memories, does it not?”

“Do you want me to unmake you?” Mac snapped. She could feel the book within her flipping to the appropriate page for such a spell, all too ready for her to consciously use its knowledge.

A dark eyebrow lifted. “MacKayla, can you not focus on the task at hand? You can huff angrily later. Besides, I too possess the same knowledge as you. However, I am not afraid of using it.”

Cruce stood near the blackhole, the feathers of his wings ruffled by the gravitational pull of it. With a raised index finger, he drew in the air and a half dozen crimson runes burst into existence. They rushed towards the blackhole, a haunting melody to calm the cacophonous noise.

‘It’s not enough,’ the _Sinsar Dubh_ whispered in Mac’s mind. She studiously ignored its voice.

The blackhole seemed to shrink marginally, but it remained.

Cruce frowned. “It is only a small portion of the song.”

“Okay, well, this was a bad idea,” Mac said throwing her hands in the air. She should have waited for Barrons to be resurrected in the morning. It was foolish to free V’lane— er Cruce, and expect anything good to happen.

“I do have another idea,” Cruce said.

“I’m listening,” Mac answered irritably. At least they made some progress. How were they to attain the rest of the song?

“The Unseelie King said it himself,” Cruce said. “If I am to replace him, perhaps you are to replace the Queen.”

Mac scoffed. “Goes against your plans of domination, eh? Starting to regret giving me that elixir of immortality now?”

Hurt flashed across Cruce’s dark features, before he could mask it with stoicism. “Never, MacKayla. Judge me on my current actions, not my past blunders.”

Mac laughed. “Blunders? You betrayed your king and raped his woman!”

“I first tried to reason with the Queen,” Cruce explained quietly. “Her response was to have me murdered for doing nothing more than existing. Your belief of right and wrong is learned. Human morality is not the same as Fae morality. Where is your condemnation for the Queen who should have taught those under her right from wrong?”

“Okay, she was definitely horrible and petty,” Mac agreed.

“And when you killed the police officer when you broke your vow to the Gray Woman — what does that make you? Does it make you a murderer? An oath-breaker?” Cruce cocked his head to the side, his dark hair fluttered in a stream behind him from the blackhole’s force. “I think you are still MacKayla and that passion sometimes led to unwise decisions.” He stepped towards her, the magnetism of his body causing her gut to twist. “I appreciate your passion, MacKayla. Why not give me the benefit of a doubt? Will you hear my idea or continue to reject me?”

“Fine,” Mac breathed, folding her arms defensively over her chest.

His dark gaze flickered towards his cuff on her arm. “I believe that part of the song was created due to the King and Queen’s union. At the creation, they were simply King and Queen — there was no Seelie or Unseelie.”

“So you think I should have sex with you to create the song?” Mac laughed bitterly. “You never give up.”

Cruce’s eyes narrowed. “I do not understand why you reject me so,” he said softly.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you lie to me so often?” Mac drawled in her Georgia accent.

“Never about the important things,” Cruce argued. “I told you more about my kind than any mortal has ever known. I allowed you to summon me like an obedient dog. I toned down my affect on you — when I had one.” He took a deep, calming breath. “I even told you of my entire plan to rule my kind and lead them as our King never did, and the Queen only cared about half of our race. I asked you to accept me or kill me, placed the spear over my heart with your hand on the handle.”

“And I didn’t kill you, so I should accept you,” Mac stated.

Cruce opened his eyes and stared at her calmly. “I do not think visiting the White Mansion will hold the answers. I think we must travel to Faerie where the Queen holds court.” He held out his hand towards her. “Come with me to Faerie, MacKayla. Together, you and I will re-create the song. The original Unseelie King cannot do so. He doesn’t possess the knowledge - we do. Nor does he care. He has always cared more about pleasuring his bedmate than the fate of his children or of the entire world. Aoibheal doesn’t have the song; she was the concubine. Even if she cared to help, she’s under the possession of the King and he won’t release her even if the rest of the realms are destroyed.”

If she went with Cruce into Faerie, who knew how much time she’d lose on earth. If she didn’t learn to re-create the song, then there would be no earth!

“You wanted to learn about Cruce,” he said. “Now is your chance. You may know anything and everything about me. I realize your preference is for that beast, but, MacKayla, if you and I can save our worlds — isn’t it worth it?”

Barrons would understand, so long as he was the one able to re-claim her. He’d made that clear when he thought she’d been intimate with Darroc. It was his opinion to try anything and everything to succeed. Its what made him such successful mercenary. Her concern was whether or not she wanted to risk everything for Cruce.

Mac took Cruce’s hand and they sifted into Faerie.


	3. Song of Making

 

Their arrival in Faerie wasn’t without an unwelcome greeting from the Seelie that were either too cowardly or self-absorbed to bother in the fight against their Unseelie brethren.  It made no difference to Cruce.  With the knowledge of the King’s magic that he absorbed with the book, he soon had those antagonistic fae falling all over themselves to serve him and MacKayla. 

 

“Nice trick,” Mac murmured.She glared at Cruce, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.“Don’t try that on me.”

 

Cruce shrugged, his wings shifting on his shoulder blades and brushing against her arm in the process.“You contain the same power as I do.We are equals.”He noticed Mac’s frown at his words.Would her mortal mind be able to cope with the immortal power she now possessed?Aboheal had managed, though drinking from the cauldron of forgetfulness and his gentle coaxing had helped in that transition.Of course, the more time MacKayla spent in Faerie, the easier it would be for her to adjust into her transition into immortal Seelie. 

 

He considered introducing Mac to the cauldron, but then quickly dismissed the idea.If he erased her memories he would lose that which made her unique.And there was also the chance that with her new powers that rivaled his own, that she might somehow force him to drink from it.

 

“I feel strange,” Mac whispered.“This place — it has some strange effect on me.My vision is different and the smell — it’s like I can smell every single blade of grass and individual blooming flower.”She looked over at him, her eyes widened with fear.“Am I becoming Unseelie?”

 

Cruce shook his head.“There is little difference between Seelie and Unseelie, MacKayla. Though, your transition may have started from cannibalizing the flesh of the Unseelie, you are not missing an essential element.You will be replacing one of the Seelie Princesses.”He didn’t point out that he’d been the one to dispatch the missing princesses over the millennia. 

 

“It wasn’t cannibalizing.I was human and they were fae,” Mac argued. 

 

Cruce looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.They both knew she was never fully human. 

 

Mac blew out a frustrated sigh.Her posture went rigid and she pointed towards the queen’s bowers.“Something is calling from there.Do you hear it?” 

 

Cruce heard nothing unusual, but felt confident in her abilities since she’d identified the queen’s residence.“Lead the way, MacKayla.”

 

The queen’s bower was created by trees that had bent over to create a dome, thick green vines with vibrant flowers covered it creating a thick wall.Cruce had spent quite a bit of time within those lush walls when he and the queen had been lovers.She had a beautiful, willowy body, but the fire he admired within her when she was the King’s concubine had been snuffed out by the cauldron’s water.She was a cold beauty.MacKayla was hot and fiery and he desperately wanted to reclaim her.

 

Their brief time together on Samhain had been tarnished by the actions of his brothers — Famine, Pestilence, and Death.They had almost destroyed her, but in their shared intimacies, he knew that look of utter devotion and love that she showed him was what he wanted.

 

He didn’t want her _Pri-ya_.He wanted MacKayla devoted to him of her own volition.

.

.

**OoO**

.

.

Mac led Cruce to the queen’s bower.Closing her eyes at the door’s threshold she could feel chords in the air.She couldn’t quite hear them, but she knew they were there.She stepped inside and her gaze landed upon the massive bed that took up the majority of the space.It wasn’t as big as the bed in the White Mansion, but it certainly was bigger than any other bed she’d seen.She opened her backpack and took out the music box. 

 

She set the delicate music box on the queen’s bed. 

 

Cruce followed inside the room and then flexed his wings.He glanced around.“It looks different in here.”

 

Mac snorted.“I guess you spent plenty of time here with the queen.”She didn’t like feeling jealous by the idea.Everyone had a history, but she had only twenty-three years compared to the millennia of her contemporaries.

 

“It is true, that I cared for her.How could I not?I’ve known her for so long.She is beautiful enough to have caught the king’s attention.”He moved to stand at her side, the tips of his wings brushed against her arm again.“Though, I did not love her.She helped me achieve many goals.Together, we were able to replace the original queen.It was her hatred and jealousy of the king that led to the imprisonment of my brothers and sisters.Had they been treated with kindness and love, I do not doubt they would have evolved quite differently.You know the brutality of the Unseelie Prison.It is a hopeless environment that nurtures revenge and maliciousness.”

 

“What the queen did was very wrong,” Mac agreed.“But don’t think for a minute that justifies what you did to the king.”She laid her palm over her heart.“Do not forget that I contain the king’s memories.You betrayed him!”

 

Cruce’s eyes flashed with anger.“He betrayed all his children.He did not stand up for us and left us at the mercy of the queen.He needed to be held accountable and she was the only thing he ever cared about!”

 

Mac’s accusations felt hollow.She could hear Rainey Lane’s voice in her head.‘Two wrongs don’t make a right.’ 

 

Cruce turned towards her and reached out, his fingertips lingered only millimeters away from her cheek.“It is all in the past.We can learn from the past and move on to the future, or we can dwell on our misdeeds.”He took a deep breath and for a moment, Mac thought he looked nervous.“The mortal that caught my attention was you, MacKayla.”

 

Mac laughed bitterly and sat on the edge of the bed, out of his reach.“We both know it was the book within me that caught your interest, V’lane.”She cringed.“Cruce.”

 

Cruce sat beside her with a careful distance separating them.“The book within you was dormant, MacKayla.It wasn’t until the king brought us to the three moon landing that I knew.”

 

Mac nodded.Something about Cruce’s tone, made her think of another chord.A song began to play in her mind’s background.She turned to face him and was struck by his otherworldly beauty.Even in his true form, he was the most gorgeous male specimen she’d ever seen.

 

“You shouldn’t look at me like that,” Cruce whispered, his voice strained.

 

“I wish to try something.”Mac reached for Cruce, slid her hand past his chiseled cheek, and threaded her fingers in the thickness of his dark hair.The music grew louder in her mind.She brushed her lips against his, the memory of a gentle caress made the music more detailed.Cruce’s tongue entered her mouth, same as he had done so many times when writing his name on her tongue.Mac pushed Cruce back to the bed and started to plant kisses down his neck and suddenly his shirt is gone.His wings cocoon them.

 

Within a second, her clothes were gone — either by his magic or hers, and they were both completely nude.She remembered his embrace from Samhain, but she’d been so mentally lost that she’d been unable to enjoy it.Her immunity to fae magic put them on equal terms.

 

They didn’t speak with words, but they worshiped each other’s body.Her fingers and lips explored every inch of him and he did the same to her.His planes were hard where hers were soft and they fit together as if they had been made for one another.

 

They didn’t have sex, they made love in every sense of the word. 

 

Much time had passed, their intimacy slow and drawn out before they lay side by side, on the queen’s bed.Mac began to hum and the music box started to glow a vibrant violet light.As soon as she stopped humming the song in her head, the music box snapped shut capturing the tune.

 

“Was that the Song of Making?” Cruce asked in awe.He braced his arms on either side of Mac and leaned over her.“I felt warmth throughout my body.”His eyes glowed amber with the residual magic.

 

Mac began to worry about Stockholm’s Syndrome, because at this moment in time she felt simple adoration and affection for the alien hovering over her.Memories flashed in her mind of Samhain.She had felt cherished in Cruce’s arms and he had loved her.She hadn’t performed any degrading acts on him while under the _Pri-ya_ influence, unlike with his brothers.Rath and Kyon were dead and Dani had killed the other prince.All her rapists were dead, except for Cruce, but he’d given her a chance to kill him.It was too late now.Their fates were too entwined at this point.

 

She lifted her hand to cup his cheek gently.“I think so.”

 

“What are you thinking, MacKayla?” Cruce asked turning to press a kiss to her palm. 

 

Mac dropped her hand away from his face and rubbed her forehead.“I should hate you more — but….”

 

“But?”Cruce prodded.“Could it be that you realize my feelings for you are genuine?”

 

“As genuine as they can be,” she conceded.“Though, I wonder how many _Sidhe Seers_ did you seduce while you were imprisoned in ice under the abbey?” 

 

Cruce shrugged.“I kept not count.I was quite bored.Besides, it was an illusion only.When I came to you on Samhain, I couldn’t come in full form, but my essential self was able to find you.”

 

“Essential self?”

 

Cruce frowned and his eyes darkened from amber to onyx.“Had I been able to come in my physical form, I would have killed the other princes and Darroc for what they did to you.For what they took from me.”

 

“That which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger,” Mac murmured.That encounter made her resistant to Death-by-sex fae magic and Cruce had given her an immortality elixir.The experience had also brought her closer to Barrons. 

 

Barrons.The thought of him was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her.What she and Cruce had done seemed unforgivable!

 

“What are you thinking?” Cruce asked, cocking his head to the side and frowning in concern.

 

“I shouldn’t have done this,” Mac said.She scooted away from Cruce and sat with her back braced against the bed’s headboard and her knees drawn up against her chest.“I love Barrons.”

 

Cruce arched an eyebrow.“You just created the Song of Making when we made love.We can heal the blackholes and save both our worlds — because you and I merged.”

 

“I choose Barrons as my wave,” Mac murmured. 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cruce said, his brow wrinkled in confusion.He extended his hand out towards her.“You are the only one I have ever loved, MacKayla.If you wish it, I can show you Barrons’ love.She was the mother of his child.”

 

Did she want to know about Barrons’ former love?She knew that Fiona had been his lover and he’d lived thousands of years.Surely, he’d taken many lovers.She expected that, but it still hurt.Curiosity had always gotten her into trouble, but even knowing that, she’d prefer knowledge to ignorance.Reluctantly, she took Cruce’s hand.

 

Images flashed before her eyes and thoughts flooded her mind.She saw a desert and recognized Barrons sitting on a hill.The sky was covered in stars and there was a woman at his side, snuggled against his broad chest with his arm secured around her shoulders. 

 

His face was relaxed in a smile she’d never seen.The woman was heavy with child. 

 

‘You are my sun,’ the woman said, looking up at Barrons with pure adoration shining in her dark eyes.

 

‘And you are my moon and stars,’ Barrons answered.He nuzzled a kiss to her cheek.‘I bind myself to you in this life and in all the next.No one will ever take your place in my heart.’A strange energy surrounded the two of them after he made his vow.

 

The image dissolved in Mac’s mind and she blinked.Cruce stared back at her.“I’m sorry, MacKayla.But, you needed to see.”

 

“Is she alive?” Mac whispered.

 

Cruce nodded.“She’s been reborn.He will recognize her, MacKayla.And when he does, no matter how genuine his feelings may be for you now, he will leave you for her.They are bound by his vow.”

 

Mac looked away, a tear fell from her eye.It was stupid.She was the one cheating on Barrons and yet she was upset that he might leave her for the woman he loved in a former life?

 

Cruce’s thumb brushed over her cheek, catching the teardrop.“You needed to know, MacKayla.Come, we shouldn’t linger here.While I’d love a repeat performance, too much time has passed.We must return to earth and eliminate the blackholes.”

.

.

**OoO**

.

.

“Look, I’m telling you, lass.I’m not a good man.I used to be, but now I’ve been corrupted.”Christian looked away, unable to look any longer at Alina’s clear, green eyes.“I killed a woman with my ardor.”

 

Cool, gentle fingers touched his shoulder.“You have strength, Christian.Forget about how you screwed up and think about how you can make a difference.”

 

“I avoided capture by the Crimson Hag, knowing that she would kill any around her until she got her hands on me.She wanted my entrails to knit her gruesome dress.At least four _Sidhe Seers_ were disemboweled before my eyes,” Christian confessed.He wanted Alina to know it was more than the one woman.He’d been responsible for many deaths.

 

“I can’t say I wouldn’t have run from such a thing,” Alina mused.“The Crimson Hag is responsible for those deaths.We all have enough to blame ourselves for.We can wallow in our guilt later, but now, we have to find Mac.How far away is Chester’s?”

 

Christian lips curled up into a smile.“Och.We’re here, lass.”He gestured across the street.

 

However, they discovered that Mac wasn’t there.She hadn’t been there for several days in fact and Barrons was practically foaming at the mouth in a rage. 

 

“I’m telling you, Cruce is gone,” Dani explained.She and Ryodan stood on one side of his office, while Barrons paced, and Christian and Alina sat in a pair of chairs.“He was released.”

 

“No one would be that foolish!” Ryodan argued.

 

“You don’t seem to understand the power of his seduction,” Dani retorted.“He could coerce any woman to his bidding.”

 

“Including you?” Ryodan demanded.

 

Dani snorted.“No, not me.”She cast him a smug look.“I was able to take off his cuff without being affected at all.”

 

“The cuff that you gave to Mac,” Barrons accused. 

 

Alina bent over at her waist, her head between her knees.She groaned miserably.

 

Christian rubbed his hand over her upper back awkwardly.“What’s the matter, lass?”

 

Alina turned her face towards him, a fine sheen of sweat at her brow and her green eyes bright with agony.“I can sense the book.”

 

“Cruce,” Ryodan spat.

 

“Or Mac,” Barrons whispered.He jerked Alina from the chair.“Where?”

 

“I’ll take you,” Alina said, gulping anxiously.“She’s not far.Maybe in the building even.”

 

“The blackhole?” Ryodan suggested. 

 

The group hurried together towards the lower level that was plagued by a terrible blackhole. It had increased in size over the past few days and the end of the world had creeped that much closer into becoming reality.

 

Alina came to an abrupt halt and everyone paused around her.

 

Standing near the border of the blackhole were two figures.One was a dark angel standing a short distance from the other.The other was Mac and she was enshrouded in a violet light, her hair seemed longer as it floated behind her as if on some unseen breeze.She was singing in the otherworldly language and didn’t acknowledge the arrival of her allies.With her left hand she held a box against her chest, it too glowed in violet light.

 

“Mac!” Barrons roared, but his shout went unacknowledged.He tried to approach her, but Cruce glared at him and held up his hand to stay his movement.A barrier formed to keep the intruders away from the blackhole.

 

The song ended abruptly.Mac turned towards Cruce and took his hand with her free one.They both glowed violet and the song began again, only this time the blackhole seemed to collapse within itself growing smaller and smaller until it vanished completely.

 

Finally noticing them, Mac turned towards Barrons and the others.She smiled at them as Cruce wrapped his arms around her and then they vanished sifting between dimensions.

 

The barrier that had kept them away vanished as soon as they did.

 

“Is it really gone?” Dani wondered. 

 

“Yes, and so are they,” Barrons growled.“Why would she team up with him?”

 

“Because it looks like together they might just be able to save our world,” Christian murmured. 

.

.

.

 

 

 


	4. The New King and Queen

.

.

Days passed on earth as Mac and Cruce sifted to the various blackholesaround the world and closed them up with their combined power.It had to be their thirtieth rift when Mac’s powers began to wane.She and Cruce had only stopped for brief respites of food and slumber— though never snagging more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time. 

This particular blackhole resisted their will.The nearby buildings of the industrial city strained towards the pressure of the rip within the space-time continuum. 

“Let us try something,” Mac panted.A stray steel pipe careened through the air and whistled very close. 

Cruce sifted them to the other side of the blackhole away from the deadly debris.His bronzed complexion was ashen and his expression hard with concentration.He glanced down at Mac, his iridescent eyes wary.“What do you have in mind, MacKayla?” His voice was barely a whisper. 

Mac reached up and cradled Cruce’s face between her hands.She stood on tip-toes until her lips brushed against his.Cruce’s arms banded around Mac, one hand pressed between her shoulder blades and the other at her waist.Mac went lax against him as he deepened the kiss.The song’s melody, always a soft hum in her mind manifested into a roar about them.

The thirtieth rift sealed and Mac felt an overwhelming exhaustion and started to faint.She clung weakly to the thin shirt stretched over Cruce’s chest. 

Cruce caught her with ease in his strong arms.As Mac looked up into his warm amber eyes, no longer eerily iridescent, she saw undeniable love and softness in his gaze.Cruce pulled Mac against him, cocooned them in his wings, and sifted away, leaving the industrial city behind.

A strange sensation continued to grow within Mac.Was it the Song of Making?Or was it something else?If she didn’t know better, she’d think that she was pregnant.However, it was well known that fae were infertile.

“You’re not completely fae,” Cruce said.His wings were spread as he glided them to land on a meadow covered in lilac and yellow flowers.The cool air was a refreshing and welcomed respite.

“What?”The tall grass and flowers danced around Mac’s calves as the breeze blew.

“You were speaking aloud, MacKayla.Fae became infertile over the centuries as something was lost within their very essence.”Cruce released his large hands from around Mac’s waist.“Do you truly think you may be with child?”

“I don’t know.I just know that I feel strange and it’s more than just this power we’re wielding in healing the rifts within space.”Mac spun around and scanned the meadow. “Are we still on Earth?”

Cruce shook his head.“I needed to rest.”He politely omitted the fact that she’d just fainted in exhaustion.“I cannot continue to sift through dimensions ceaselessly.We have spent the last ten of your earth days working until the point of collapse.”He pointed towards the sky and the three moons.“We are in another galaxy entirely.” 

“Say we heal all the blackholes,” Mac said.She laid back on the soft blanket of flowers and stared up at the three moons.“What then?Will you lead the Fae?Will you take your kin and leave my world forever and retreat back into Faerie?”

“Not all humans want the Fae gone,” Cruce reminded her.He stood towering in front of her, his silhouette blocking the third moon as he spread out his wings and cast her in shadow.“There would need to be compromise.A place where the races could mix if they wanted.Faerie and Earth exist on the same planet, but different planes.”

“I suppose we can keep Chester’s open to mingling,” Mac conceded.

Cruce crouched beside Mac.He reached over to tuck a strand of sun-kissed golden hair behind her ear.“I will take the majority of the fae elsewhere, especially the ones unfit for human interaction.”He leaned over her, his long, dark hair curtaining around her face.“You must give me something.”

Mac stared up at Cruce warily.Any bargain with The Prince of War was a scary proposition.“What would you have of me?”

“Stay with me for a year,” Cruce suggested.His amber eyes scanned her face and then focused on her belly.He laid his palm gently across the expanse of her tummy.“If you are truly with a child conceived of our intimacy, it will take a year for it to develop.”

“A year in Faerie is a century on Earth — no deal,” Mac retorted.

Cruce shrugged and rocked back on his knees.“It doesn’t have to be now.It can be after your mortal friends and family have passed.After your Barrons has left you for that woman he tied his soul to long ago.Immortality is a hard burden sometimes.I could help you with that burden.It would give me something to look forward to in my new governing role.”He gave her a pitying look.“My beloved MacKayla, you are more fae than human now.I am a patient man, but now I am a man with hope.”

“You’re not a man,” Mac grumbled.“You’re an Unseelie Prince.”

“Am I?You heard our father, the Unseelie King of old was happy to grant me the title as he took his old concubine and abandoned us to the rifts,” Cruce argued.“Do you still paint me as the villain when he had the power to fix the destruction, yet left with his prize in hand content to watch his children struggle against annihilation?”

“No,” Mac sighed.“Life is more complicated than that.”Cruce reminded her of Frankenstein’s monster and the Unseelie King was Victor Frankenstein.He created life, but didn’t spend the time to instill morals or to nurture that life.When his monster sought revenge and his own happiness, who could fault him?The Fae were alien beings, their values were different than those of humans, but to co-exist they must agree on rules of conduct.Cruce certainly seemed more reasonable than any of the other Fae she’d had dealings with over the past year.

Cruce sat down beside her with his legs folded Lotus-style and his arms crossed over his chest.“Once you’re rested, I’ll take you back to your Barrons.”

“Why not a year on Earth?” Mac asked, sitting up suddenly.Perhaps, she could work to instill human morals into an immortal creature like Cruce.If he was to lead his race, he needed to sympathize with the mortal humans.

Cruce’s eyes were wide with shock“What?”

“You heard me,” Mac said.“Why not a year on Earth?In Georgia?If you can live a year amongst humans, I’ll make your case with the others that you should be allowed to lead the Fae.”

Cruce snorted in amusement.“You don’t think they’ll consider you biased?”

“Considering that without your help, the world have ended already,” Mac argued.“I think you might have earned yourself a pass.”

“Yes, well, MacKayla, Barrons and his immortal band of soldiers might decide to rip my head off regardless,” Cruce answered.He shot Mac a bland look.“And considering that I’ve impregnated _his_ woman, I don’t believe he’ll be much in the listening mood.”He leaned back and closed his eyes with his arms folded under his head.“Not to mention, they’ll blame me for the rifts between the dimensions to begin with.”

“But you were trying to free your wrongfully imprisoned brothers and sisters!” Mac cried out.

“Listen to you, MacKayla!”Cruce chuckled.“You’ve become the defender of the dark and demonic Unseelie.”

“Part of the King has been within me since before I was born.”Mac laid back and rested her head upon Cruce’s shoulder.“Long ago, the Fae and humans lived together.”

“That is how the King came upon his Concubine,” Cruce pointed out. 

“I owe Barrons an explanation,” Mac said.“I won’t risk you though.”

“I am touched by your compassion,” Cruce murmured.He wrapped his arms around Mac and held her close.“Let us rest for a while and then I will take you to your Barrons.I believe we have made a significant dent in those blackholes plaguing our world.Though, you’ll need to check with your friends to make sure we didn’t miss any.”

Mac didn’t argue as she and Cruce both succumbed to the need to sleep and restore their energy. 

.

.

**OoO**

.

.

“Where have you been, Miss Lane?” Barrons roared furiously.He threw an entire case of books crashing down on the floor inside of Barrons’ Books and Baubles. 

Mac had first gone by Chester’s, but Barrons wasn’t there.Ryodan had given Mac coordinates for another half-dozen blackholes, but had admitted that the threat seemed to be resolving thanks to Mac and Cruce’s efforts.Cruce had Ryodan’s support for leading the Fae.As he put it, “better the devil you know.”Dani had been thrilled by Mac’s return, but understandably anxious about Mac’s fae-like appearance.Apparently, her skin was now luminescent.

“Miss Lane, is it?”Mac was furious at Barrons’ attitude and it only solidified her resolve.If he truly loved her, he’d have called her Mac.He’d always kept them at a distance, even when they were most intimate.“I’ll tell you where I’ve been.I’ve been traveling the world and stopping the blackholes,” Mac answered.“I had to create the Song of Making.”

“You slept with Cruce!I can smell him all over you!He permeates your very aura!” Barrons growled.His height increased and shoulders stretched more broad as the animal within struggled to dominate.

“And your soul is linked eternally to another!You didn’t think that was important to let me know?” Mac accused. 

“That was long ago and completely irrelevant!” Barrons shouted.

Mac stared at him, her heart in her eyes.“She lives.She’s been reborn in this life.Aren’t you obligated to find her?I won’t be your substitute, Jericho.You got what you needed out of me — peace for your son.”

Barrons stared back at her crestfallen.“I was your world.”

Mac offered him a sad smile.“You were my world, but I was never yours.If you had to choose between me and her — you would choose her.”

“You don’t know that,” Barrons protested.“You cannot know that.”

Mac clutched at her chest.“I am not human.Part of the Unseelie King lives within me, as it does within Cruce.It was only with him that I was able to stay the hand of absolute destruction.”

“Which Cruce caused!”

“He might have been the catalyst, but it was always there, Jericho.If he hadn’t tipped the scales, then it would have been me.”She took a deep breath.Barrons had been her world, but Cruce had become her universe.“The Song of Making was the creation of Life between the King and Queen of the Fae.”

“What happened to my Rainbow Girl?” Barrons whispered, a rumble of despair in his chest.

“She has become Queen of the Fae,” Cruce said, materializing behind Mac in a whirl of dark mist. 

“You!I’ll rip your wings off and shove them down your throat!” Barrons moved impossibly fast, but Cruce moved easily out of his reach, taking Mac with him. 

They sifted out of the book store and into a nearby park, with fledging trees.“That went better than I thought,” Cruce said casually.“Let’s see how this next reunion goes.”

“What?” Mac started to question, but Cruce was already gone.She could hear the groan of a nauseated woman nearby.She turned and found her sister bent over her knees on a bright red bench.Mac rushed towards Alina’s side.

Cool, green eyes looked up searchingly.“Junior?” Alina whispered.She swallowed thickly and brushed the back of her hand over her mouth.“Sorry, the Book is so strong in you.”

“I’ve stopped the blackholes,” Mac said. 

“I noticed.Things are starting to grow again and the chaos is lessening.Mom managed to plant a veritable garden in this park and a few others in the city,” Alina explained.“Have you seen Barrons?He’s been desperate without you.”

Mac scoffed.Desperate wasn’t something she associate with Barrons.He was probably upset that his favorite plaything had run off with his rival and saved the world without him.“He’ll be fine,” she assured Alina.“His soulmate is probably running to meet him as we speak.He’ll be consoled in no time.” 

“This doesn’t sound like you, Junior,” Alina said, her voice trembled.She closed her eyes tight as she fought another wave of nausea.“Your skin glows!You better not see Mom and Dad looking like this.I’ll tell them you’re alright, but busy saving the world.”

Mac moved with a pre-natural speed akin to what she possessed in the past with her spear against the dark fae.Cruce was right — she wasn’t human anymore.She reached for Alina and hugged her older sister close.She infused a surge of healing energy into her sister, a power she didn’t know she had until that moment.Alina’s posture grew rigid and she no longer fought with nausea.

“Tell Dad and Mom that I love them,” Mac whispered.“I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.There is still so much work to do.”

“I understand,” Alina said.She held Mac out at arm’s length.“You brought me back.You’ve given me a second chance.I really did love Darroc.I thought I could changehim, but his lust for power and vengeance was too strong.And he wasn’t nearly as strong as the Prince of War!”

“I trust Cruce,” Mac said, surprised that she meant it.“He’s always been a champion for his brothers and sisters.We were on opposite sides of a great war, but now we must have peace if we are to co-exist.”

“You love him?” Alina asked.

“I don’t know,” Mac confessed.“But I just want to take some time after we finish saving the world.I want to find out.”

“Okay.”Alina kissed Mac’s cheek.“You’re not in Ashford anymore, Junior.Just come back to me.”

“You’re going to be an aunt,” Mac said.She felt Cruce’s arms around her and they sifted away before Alina could respond. 

“Are your affairs settled?” Cruce asked.He sifted them to the edge of Guinness Lake in the Wicklow National Park.“I thought that bomb of impending motherhood was a nice note to end your visit with your sister.”

“Well, I’d have to disagree,” Christian said.He sifted right alongside them with Alina in tow.He glared at Cruce.“Should I call you brother?”

Cruce shrugged.“You’re an improvement over the previous Prince of Death.”Cruce rolled back his shoulders casually.“He was unfortunately just as quick to rush into things though — which is why Danielle killed him.You best not sneak up on that one, brother.”

“You’re pregnant?” Alina demanded, sidestepping Christian and grasping Mac’s hands.“How do you know?Was there like a test or something?”

“It’s the Song of Making,” Mac explained.“It’s pretty obvious if you think about it.There might have been another way to accomplish it, but I haven’t found it.”

Alina stared past Mac at Cruce.“I can’t really do anything to you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try.Don’t you dare hurt my sister.”

“It would be against my interests to cause any harm to MacKayla,” Cruce said with a chivalrous bow.He kept his attention focused on Christian.“If you have questions on how you might use your powers, I would be willing to teach you.”

“I don’t want any help from you, unless you can undo this atrocity!” Christian roared.

Cruce cocked his head to one side.“We will need someone who understands both human and Fae if we are to co-exist.Your ancestors were the human liaisons with the Queen for centuries.You should continue that role, Christian MacKeltar.”He gestured towards Mac.“MacKayla is the new Queen.”

“What about Queen Aoibheal?” Christian demanded.

“She was originally human,” Cruce reasoned.“She was the King’s Concubine.Is not MacKayla, one who has recreated the Song of Making, not a more appropriate choice?The Unseelie King has taken back his Concubine and has left Earth to us.”

“I will not betray my Queen,” Christian spat. 

“Why don’t you speak with Adam?” Cruce suggested.“Perhaps he can teach you of the Fae ways.And MacKayla is more your queen than ever Aoibheal was.MacKayla is the reason you’ve become immortal.”

“Don’t remind me,” Christian said, glaring at Mac.

“My fiancé would have killed for what you’ve been given Christian,” Alina said quietly. 

“Let’s not put Darroc on a pedestal,” Mac cautioned.“He did kill — repeatedly, to try and regain his immortality.I did work with him though and he could be rational.We cannot instill our morals on foreigners and expect them to abide by things they’ve never learned.We must have common laws that protect both if we wish to coexist.”

“Och, it sounds like you’re starting a new country with a legal system,” Christian mused, with narrowed eyes.As he stared at Mac, his expression softened.“There is something regal about you now, Mac.”He took a deep breath and his shoulders slouched.“When I’m mad at you, I’m less mad at myself.”

“Maybe you should try not being mad anymore,” Mac advised.She stepped past Alina and touched Christian’s tattooed forearm.The dancing stripes of his tattoo stilled under her fingers and for a moment his tension was blanketed in peace, his tensed muscles relaxed.“Meet with Adam and learn what it is to be Fae, Christian.We were chosen to balance the scales.I may have given you Unseelie flesh to eat, to keep you alive, but that’s not what made you an Unseelie Prince.The Guardians, Darroc, Fiona, and Mallucé all consumed Unseelie flesh and none of them have changed.”

“None of them survived the Silvers and had Unseelie flesh,” Christian corrected.He sighed and then crouched on one knee in front of Mac.“I understand now, my queen.Och, it might be that the fates chose me to accompany you on the journey of transformation.”

“Might be,” Mac agreed.“Now, please, take my sister back to Dublin and you should be off to see Adam in America.”

Christian’s lips thinned.“There is something else.Ryodan and Barrons have —.”

Mac pressed her finger over Christian’s lips.“For now, it doesn’t matter.You may tell me the next time we meet, but not now.”

Christian rose to his feet and wrapped his arm securely around Alina’s waist before they sifted away.

“Alone at last,” Cruce chimed cheerfully.“Where to now, my queen?You have the coordinates for the remaining blackholes?”

“There are only a few left,” Mac said.“Afterwards, let’s start that year.”

Cruce sucked in a breath, his body perfectly still.“Where?”

Mac remembered in her former life, before things became so complicated, going to a beach once in the Caribbean with Cruce — though he was disguised as V’lane.She remembered his sensitivities to sunburns on his privates and the memory made her smile.He wasn’t human, but he wasn’t invincible either“How about an island near Hawaii on this plane?”

“Many islands weren’t too affected by the shades,” Cruce said.“In one human year, many things will still be in turmoil.”

“I don’t want to miss out on everything,” Mac protested.“I simply want a little respite — with you.”She wouldn’t leave the purging of the most vicious of Unseelie at the hands of Ryodan’s men, the _Sidhe Seers_ , and the Seelie.She and Cruce would take care of them personally.

The most brilliant smile crossed Cruce’s lips.“Truly, MacKayla, you make my heart leap.” 

“We need to stop by my parents’ house in Georgia first though,” Mac said.“There is something I need to pick up.”

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**OoO**

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“When I had asked for a year of your time, MacKayla,” Cruce began, “I hadn’t intended to pepper it with battles.”He stepped out of the ocean’s waves onto the pristine beach. 

They had just returned from a melee battle with two unsavory Unseelie that refused to agree to the terms of a truce between Fae and humanity.Their nightmarish bloodlust had left a trail of corpses all across mainland Europe.Mac and Cruce had put a permanent end to their destructive path.

“Nothing promotes a healthy libido more than an active workout,” Mac teased.She tossed her damp hair back and laid on her side to warm under the sun’s rays, as she could no longer rest easily on her stomach.

“Hm, I can’t argue with that.”Cruce traced his finger down Mac’s naked flesh as he laid beside her.“I need to apply more of that cream to your back.You’re starting to look pink.”He began to apply sunblock to Mac’s exposed flesh, though she knew he was exaggerating. He’d applied more sunblock half an hour before.It was just an excuse to run his hands over her and she didn’t mind.She’d be happy to return the favor once he was done.

“Shall I read to you some more?” Mac asked.She snagged the old paperback from her bag and opened it near the end.

“Oh yes, I’d enjoy hearing more about Frankenstein and his monster,” Cruce agreed.For all his time interacting on Earth he’d never read any popular literature.He could quote Plato, Archimedes, and Imhotep, but he didn’t have a clue about Dracula.“I think it best if we do not engage in anymore battles until after you’ve delivered though, MacKayla.”

“We will do what we must,” Mac argued. “The responsibility falls to us to stop the deadliest of the Seelie and Unseelie when they fail to abide by the accord.There will be no prison of despair to nurture hatred and create an even more abominable monster.”

“There are other warriors,” Cruce argued, rubbing Mac’s lower back aggressively.“You cannot keep risking yourself.”

Mac turned onto her back and stared up at Cruce.“I’m only doing my duty.”

Cruce’s hands slid over her flesh to rest protectively over the swell in her belly.He leaned down to press a chaste kiss over her abdomen.He grinned at her, mischief dancing in his amber eyes.“And you do it so well.”

“Do you want me to continue reading, or not?” Mac asked.“You’re very distracting.”

“I was thinking, our child should be born in Faerie,” Cruse mused.“It would be a moment of hope for the Fae to see a newborn Fae child.”

“I wish to destroy the cauldron of forgetfulness,” Mac said.“It’s potential for abuse is too great.”

Cruce shifted uncomfortably.“I suppose my abuse of it is a prime example?”

“Is that a note of remorse?” Mac asked.She sat up on her elbows and brought her face closer to his.“Remorse isn’t something you would have, if you didn’t possess your memories.The King extracted his memories into the Book.The lost knowledge was more dangerous than if he’d simply learned from his mistakes.”

“I dare say, MacKayla, I never once in all my long life thought I might find an ounce of the happiness that I’ve experienced with you over this short amount of time,” Cruce said. He cradled Mac’s cheek gently.“I cannot fathom being this content always.”

“We won’t be,” Mac assured him.“You have to work hard to maintain happiness.”Her thoughts drifted to Barrons, as it often did.She wondered if he found the woman he tied his soul to so many lifetimes ago.Did he regret doing so?If he hadn’t, would she have chosen Cruce still?It seemed that the salvation of the world relied on her choosing Cruce.

“Do you think they’ll ever come back?” Mac asked, referring to the original Unseelie King and his concubine, Queen Aoibheal. 

“One day, maybe,” Cruce answered.“Though, if he found a way to erase the effects of the forgetful cauldron, maybe they’re finally enjoying one another’s company as they should have all along.”

“We could die tomorrow, or live for millennia,” Mac mused. 

Cruce scooped Mac into his arms and sat on the sandy beach with her in his lap.He nuzzled the back of her neck and splayed his hand possessively across her belly.“It has taken me millennia to find you, MacKayla.I will not so easily let you go.”

“I will destroy the cauldron of forgetfulness,” Mac vowed.“Whom we are, is the summary of our actions. We learn from our past so as not to make the same mistakes.If we wipe the past away, we make the same foolish errors.That is the true fault of the Fae.”She turned in Cruce’s arms and kissed the base of his neck.“You are the one I love, Cruce.You’re the sum total of all your faults and all your heroics. Your memories make you wise, but they also make you bitter.”

“And now they make me content,” Cruce added.

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_** FIN ** _

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m very curious how KMM is going to resolve the Fever series.  Thanks for reading this.  It’s mostly an excuse for Mac/Cruce fluff with a little Alina/Christian mixed in, not a whole lot of plot.  I’ll be attending the Feversong party in New Orleans this January!  Hope to see some of y’all there!   


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